In the past several decades, there has been an interest in sliding rotary vane gas compressors, the interest in these devices being attributable to several factors, including their basic simplicity, comparatively low installation cost, and relatively high volumetric displacement.
These devices have typically involved a rotor containing a plurality of generally radial slots, which slots are disposed in spaced relation about the periphery of the rotor. Such rotor is mounted on a shaft, and disposed in a housing having either a circular or an elliptically shaped cavity. A slidable vane is disposed in each such slot, with these vanes being caused to move outwardly under the influence of centrifugal force at such time as power is applied to the rotor shaft. The outer tips of these vanes are intended to contact the inner walls of the generally elliptically shaped stator cavity and make sealing contact therewith.
As is obvious, the combination of vanes and sidewall is such that a plurality of chambers are in effect defined in the stator cavity, which chambers are constantly changing their respectively configurations during rotor rotation. Thus, by providing an inlet in the stator at a location where a given chamber is enlarging, a charge of gas to be compressed can be taken in. Then, during continued rotation of the rotor, this charge of gas is thereafter compressed as the generally elliptically shaped sidewall causes the respective vanes to move inwardly, to decrease the chamber size. By placing one or more exit ports or discharge ports at the location where each chamber has been caused to become quite small, gas under relatively high pressure can be delivered.
Unfortunately, prior art rotary van gas compressors suffered from several distinct disadvantages, such as high power penalties, and rapid wear at the tips of the vanes because of high loading, this usually being accompanied by insufficient lubrication.
Accordingly, we have been motivated to provide a vastly superior rotary vane compressor design and lubrication arrangement such that frictional power consumed as a result of vane tip contact with the inner sidewall of the cavity is greatly decreased without any degradation of the gas seal that must exist between adjacent chambers defined by the vanes.